Dr Therese Vaughan will step down as CEO of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) during Q1 2013 due to family obligations and a desire to revise a textbook.
Her effective resignation date is yet to be determined. NAIC officers will conduct a national search later in 2012 to find Vaughan's replacement.
Vaughan has held the post since February 2009. Before taking up her current role, she was a professor of insurance and actuarial science at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, where she focused on the regulation and management of financial institutions.
She previously worked as the insurance commissioner for the US State of Iowa for 10 years, and was also an active member of the NAIC, serving as its president in 2002.
During her tenure as CEO, Vaughan has been responsible for overseeing operations of the NAIC, including offices in Kansas City, New York and Washington, DC. She serves as the association's primary representative and chief spokesperson in Washington, DC.
She also currently serves as the chair of the Joint Forum, a Basel-based group of banking, insurance and securities supervisors that was created to address cross-sectoral and financial conglomerate issues. In addition, she is a member of the executive committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors.
Vaughan said: “It is with mixed emotions that I announce my departure from an organisation that has been part of my life for the better part of the past two decades. I am especially proud of the work we've accomplished in the areas of US solvency modernisation and global insurance regulation. I believe the US system of state-based insurance regulation remains the strongest in the world-and the ongoing work by regulators is improving the framework every day.”
NAIC’s president and Florida’s insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty said: “Vaughan led the NAIC through a tumultuous period following the global economic crisis of 2008. Her leadership was instrumental in guiding the development of the NAIC's Solvency Modernization Initiative. Her expertise has been key to the critical self-examination of the US system of state-based insurance regulation in light of financial reform and modernisation efforts taking shape around the world.”
